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State celebrates 8th birthday of Safe Haven Law
Sen. Wyss co-authored bill after abandoned newborn was
found frozen to death outside an Indy emergency room
(INDIANAPOLIS) – Children whose lives were saved because of Indiana’s “Safe Haven Law” will join their new families, adoption professionals and lawmakers at a Statehouse ceremony on Wednesday (June 25, 11:30 a.m.) to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the legislation and to raise awareness among emergency and medical professionals and young mothers of this life-saving option.
Indiana’s Safe Haven Infant Protection Act:
- Allows a distressed parent to give up an unwanted infant safely, legally and confidentially;
- Protects the parent from arrest or prosecution for abandonment;
- Requires no names or records;
- Permits babies less than 45 days old to be given up at any hospital emergency room, fire station or police station in Indiana;
- Makes medical treatment and social services available to the birth mother; and
- Puts the child into the custody of the Indiana Division of Family & Social Services Administration, which places the infant in a foster or pre-adoptive home.
Sen. Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne), co-authored the legislation, which was enacted in 2000 after an abandoned newborn was found frozen to death on a snow bank just outside an emergency room entrance of a Northside Indianapolis hospital.
All 50 states now have Safe Haven laws, which have saved the lives of at least 1,000 infants, including six in Indiana, according to National Safe Haven Alliance. Reporting methods vary so the exact number of lives saved is not available, Wyss said.
“We do not encourage parents to give up their children, but the Safe Haven Law provides another option for those mothers who don’t have the resources or support to keep their child safe,” Wyss said.
Abandoning an infant is classified as neglect of a dependent, a Class D felony punishable by one to three years in prison. If the infant is injured or killed as a result of the abandonment, the punishment is 20 to 60 years in prison.
Sen. Wyss represents Senate District 15, which includes a portion of Allen County.
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